Which Chart or Graph is Right for you?

Transcription

1 Which Chart or Graph is Right for you?

2 You know that data can answer your business questions, but how do you visualize your data to answer those questions in a way that is easily understandable? Choosing the right graph or chart to visualize your data requires an understanding of both the questions you re asking and the type of conclusion you want the viewer to draw from your data.. Many traditional visualization tools end up stranding your data in isolated, static graphs. These limit the questions you can answer with your data. Let your data come alive and be the centerpiece of decision making by using it to tell your story. TapClicks helps you visualize all types of data, so you can answer your business questions. This article will help you decide which charts work best for the answers you want to show. The TapClicks reporting platform gives you lots of options for your reports: combine related charts, add a map, provide filters to dig deeper and show the business impact and answer your most pressing questions.. Which Chart Is Right for You? Transforming data into an effective 1. Line chart 2. Bar Charts / Stacked Bar Chart 3. Combination Chart 4. Pie chart 5. Top Performers 6. KPI / Big Numbers 7. Media 8. Geo Chart 9. Funnel Chart visualization makes your data work for you. In this article you ll find best practice recommendations for when to create these types of visualizations:

3 1. Line Chart / Area Chart Line charts are one of the most frequently used and easy to understand chart types. They connect individual numeric data points and generally show trends over time. The result is a simple, straightforward way to visualize a sequence of values. When to use line charts: Use line charts to view trends in data over time. Examples: Engagement growth over a monthly period, website page views during a month, revenue growth by quarter. Area charts: When you have two or more line charts, fill the space under the respective lines to create an area chart. This shows the relative contribution that line contributes to the whole. This option can be selected at the top of the line chart section when building your widget.

4 2. Bar Charts / Stacked Bar Charts We often see data visualized in bar charts because they provide a quick way to compare information, revealing highs and lows at a glance. Bar charts are especially effective when you have numerical data that splits nicely into different categories, so you can quickly see trends within your data. When to use bar charts: Use these charts to compare data across categories. Examples: Volume of likes, comments, and shares, or website traffic by origination site. Include multiple bar charts and group them next to one another on your dashboard. This helps the viewer quickly compare related information instead of flipping through a bunch of spreadsheets or slides to answer a question. Use stacked bars or side-by-side bars. Displaying related data on top of or next to each other gives depth to your analysis and addresses multiple questions at once. One can do this by selecting the stacked bar chart option:

5 3. Combination Chart To emphasize different types of information in a chart, you can combine two or more chart types to help draw visual conclusions. For example, you can combine a bar chart with a line chart for an instant visual effect that makes both charts easier to understand. When to use Combination charts: Use combination charts when the range of values for different data series in your chart varies widely, or when you have mixed types of data. This way, you can plot one or more data series on a secondary axis on a different chart type. Your metrics should relate to one another, and one metric s scale shouldn t overshadow the second metric. For example, if one metric is in the thousands and the other the hundreds, you will be limited in seeing correlation because the metrics in the thousands will appear more important.

6 4. Pie Charts Pie charts should be used to show relative proportions or percentages of information. Pie charts are commonly misused, resulting in confusing data pairing. If you are trying to compare data, leave it to bars or stacked bars. Don t ask your viewer to translate pie wedges or compare one pie to another. Key points from your data will be missed, and the viewer has to work too hard. When to use pie charts: Pie charts are good for showing proportions. Examples: percentage of budget spent on different campaigns, demographic categories from a survey, breakdown of video view percentage. Limit pie wedges to six. If you have more than six proportions to communicate, consider a bar chart. It becomes too hard to meaningfully interpret pie pieces when the number of wedges gets too high.

7 5. Top Performers Do you like table overviews? The Top Performers table gives you an organized overview of your top performing metrics. This table lets you include multiple metric columns for a table comparison with deeper insight power. When to use Top Performers: Use these tables when you want to organize performance of multiple services by multiple performance metrics. Some examples would be having top performers of new follower or new fans, or a breakdown of a page session s metrics. Use top performers to break down sessions adding metrics to compare versus goals.

8 6. KPIs / Big Numbers Sometimes you just want to show single metrics in a big, eye catching number. KPI widgets give you overall totals in an easy to read format. Big numbers draw attention to the most important metrics. When to use Big Numbers: Big numbers work best when you use them to point out your important metrics, such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Include Big Numbers at the top of your dashboard to give clients an easy view of totals for the time-frame. Use these to show the total number of followers, likes, clicks, or impressions for a campaign.

9 7. Media While all your line, pie, and geo charts can tell a story, sometimes you need to include additional insights or a graphic image that supports your data. This option gives the viewer a complete picture of your story by providing an analysis of the data you see in the other charts. When to use Media options: Your graphs and charts need some extra explanation that leads your clients to the correct answer to their problems. The media option lets you include your findings that explain what your chart or graph shows. Illustrate key points of your report with images that show which products sold the most over the last month. You could also include individual Include data point totals in your analysis if your chart/graph breaks down items without calculating the totals. Use this space to compare the current numbers to a previous period and keep clients informed about period over period growth. Include any special calculations or notes that you may have used when presenting the data. display ads that sell best and an analysis of their effectiveness.

10 8. Geochart When you have any kind of location data whether it s postal codes, states, abbreviations, country names, or your own custom geocoding this information is most impactful when seen on a map. A geochart visually locates your data and gives you geographical context for your metrics. When to use Geocharts: Use these charts whenever you have location data to show on a map. Examples: Pageviews by country, product revenue by state, custom sales territories. Layer bubble charts on top of maps. Bubble charts represent the concentration of data, and the varied size of the bubbles quickly shows relative data and concentrations. Layering bubbles on top of a map lets clients interpret the geographical impact of different data points quickly.

11 9. Funnel Charts The Funnel chart is used to visualize the change and reduction of data as it passes from one phase to another. Data in each of these phases is represented as different portions of the whole process from start to end. When to use Funnel Charts: Funnel charts best show movement from a starting point to a completion point. For example, at the top of the funnel, you will have all the users coming to your site, and the bottom of the funnel shows how many of those users make it to the checkout page to submit an order. Funnel charts track user behavior and help you to focus on where your users drop out of the sales funnel. Use funnel charts to pinpoint holes in your sales funnel and strategically plan to maximize your completion goals.

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